Monorail Group Set To Get Ok From State

A Private Consortium Is Expected To Get The Go-ahead On Plans For A Light-rail System.

January 6, 1999|By Jim Stratton of The Sentinel Staff

While Central Florida debates the merit of light rail, the state is poised to tell a private consortium it can develop a billion-dollar monorail linking Orlando with Port Canaveral.

Late last week, the Florida Department of Transportation told the Bee Line Monorail System Inc. that it was the state's choice to build the new rail line, which would run along the Bee Line Expressway.

The consortium faces significant hurdles before it can begin carrying tourists, commuters and freight. Most important, it must persuade would-be private investors to pony up more than $1 billion for an idea that, in the past, has gone nowhere.

If built, the project would link Port Canaveral, Orlando International Airport and International Drive. As envisioned, the system would use trains that are levitated inches above the track by powerful magnets.

The technology has been approved for use in Germany and has been in operation on a limited basis in that country.

The consortium behind the proposal - a group that includes Lockheed Martin, Salomon Smith Barney and Siemens - would lease the right of way needed for the project.

Consortium officials claim they would build and operate the $1.5 billion system without any public money. Though some finance experts think that might be possible, others were skeptical.

Barbara Bych, the director of public finance for Standard & Poor's, said major transit projects typically require the backing of government to make them palatable to investors.

``It's not so much the amount of money as the type of project,'' Bych said. ``Usually, you'd need some public backing to make it doable.''

Money has doomed Bee Line rail projects in the past.

Similar proposals died in 1992 and 1994 when financing fell through and business and environmental problems came up.

That said, state officials are intrigued by the proposal. If it can be accomplished, the region would gain a valuable new transportation option at virtually no cost.

``It means we'd get rail service from the airport to I-Drive much quicker than we thought,'' said Florida Department of Transportation District Secretary Nancy Houston.

Houston said Bee Line Monorail officials think they could open the first phase of the system in 2003. That leg would link I-Drive and the airport.

The leg to Port Canaveral would open in 2006, increasing ridership, officials say, to 19 million passengers annually. Ultimately, the consortium claims, the line would carry more than 35 percent of people traveling in the Bee Line corridor.

But even supporters of the project privately question that projection. Such market shares are unheard of for mass transit.

The project is headed by Pompano Beach businessman Eugene Garfield. He developed Amtrak's AutoTrain service - which ferries passengers and their cars between Sanford and Washington, D.C. - and the defunct Florida Fun Train.

Bee Line officials could not be reached Tuesday, but earlier, Garfield said he envisioned the monorail carrying passengers and freight between the tourist district, the airport and Port Canaveral.

``There are no east-west rail systems in the region,'' Garfield said last year. ``With the growth of Central Florida and the potential growth on the coast, I don't think the highways can handle it all.''

Bee Line Monorail will formally become the state's choice for the project provided no other group challenges the decision during the next few days. After that, the consortium will have about eight months to prepare a detailed ridership and revenue study. It must also produce a blueprint showing how it will raise the money needed to build and operate the system.

If the state signs off on those plans - and investors produce the money - construction could begin early next year.